* FTSE climbs 0.2 pct
* Pharma, energy firms gain
* Anglo American pares losses on Chinalco bid rumour
* L&G falls on downgrade
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index rose
0.2 percent by midday on Tuesday, lifted by energy firms and
drugmakers, but gains on the index were limited as hopes of an
imminent recovery from the ailing global economy faded.
By 1113 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was up 10.09 points at
4,244.14, in a choppy session which saw the index swing between
positive and negative territory in early trade.
The index ended at its lowest level since April 29 on Monday
and has fallen 3.8 percent so far in June, reversing three
months of consecutive monthly gains since an all-time low
reached in March.
"Our hope is that towards the second half of the year
conditions will show signs of partial improvements and this may
help equities to track higher... but thereafter the clouds
gather again," said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, analyst at Charles
Stanley.
He added the market was concerned that the anticipated
economic revival was not coming through, adding that there was a
fear that the global economic cycle could be "W" shaped, where
the recovery in the economy will be followed by another dip.
Oil and gas firms added the most points to the index,
recovering from sharp falls in previous sessions as oil steadied
near $67 per barrel. Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, BP <BP.L> and
BG Group <BG.L> added between 0.1 and 1.2 percent.
Drugmakers GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>, which announced a deal
with UK biotech Chroma Therapeutics, rose 1.6 percent, while
AstraZeneca <AZN.L> added 0.9 percent. Shire <SHI.L> climbed 2.1
percent.
LIFE INSURERS DRAG
Life insurers were one of the largest sector drags on the
index, led by Legal & General <LGEN.L> which fell 3.2 percent
after Societe Generale cut its rating on the stock to "sell"
from "hold".
Aviva <AV.L>, Friends Provident <FP.L>, Old Mutual <OML.L>
and Prudential <PRU.L> lost between 0.3 and 1.1 percent.
Miner Anglo American <AAL.L> pared losses after dealers
cited market talk of interest from Aluminium Corp of China
(Chinalco). A Chinalco spokesman in Shanghai said the company
was unaware of the bid talk. []
Anglo American, which was still down 1.4 percent, had
earlier rejected a proposed merger with Xstrata <XTA.L>, which
gained 0.2 percent.
Other miners Eurasian Natural Resources <ENRC.L>, Rio Tinto
<RIO.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> added between 0.5 and 1.5 percent.
Among other FTSE 100 gainers, Thomson Reuters <TRIL.L> rose
6 percent, after the global information firm said it plans to
delist from the London Stock Exchange.
Analysts said this would close the share price differential
between the price in New York and London, where the shares were
cheaper.
Within the sector, BSkyB <BSY.L> gained 4.2 percent, while
Pearson <PSON.L> rose 3 percent.
In a positive sign for the UK housing market, figures from
the British Bankers Association (BBA) showed a 15.8 percent rise
in the number of mortgages approved for house purchases in May
from a year earlier.
In the U.S., the National Association of Realtors (NAR)
releases existing home sales for May at 1400 GMT, with
economists polled by Reuters expecting a 4.81 million annualised
unit total against 4.68 million annualised units in April.
Investors are likely to be watching out for comments on the
progress of quantitative easing and signs of recovery in the
market following the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee
meeting which begins on Tuesday.
(Editing by Mike Nesbit)
